Keatyn Unscripted (The Keatyn Chronicles Book 8)

by Jillian Dodd

  “The mom in me says I should make you take this back.”

  “And the daughter in me will be crushed if you do.”

  She hugs me again tightly. “I love you, Keatyn.”

  “I love you too, Mom. I hope you know that. I know this has been hard on us—that it’s driven us apart. But it doesn’t matter. Nothing will ever keep me from loving you.”

  “I’m so sorry I haven’t talked to you more. I was just trying to protect you.”

  “I know, Mom. I was, too. Garrett says we’re a lot alike.”

  She laughs. “We are, but you have your father’s stubbornness.”

  “And his eyes,” Grandma Douglas adds, joining our hug. “You both need to take care of yourselves. You understand me?”

  While in France, Keatyn hears from Brooklyn.

  I’m putting our gifts from Santa in my room when my phone rings. I look down and see that it’s B. I had texted him, along with all my other friends, last night, wishing them a Merry Christmas, but he was the only one I hadn’t heard back from.

  “Hey, B!” I say. “Merry Christmas!”

  “Keats, um . . . shit.”

  “Brooklyn, what’s wrong? Are you crying? Are you okay?”

  “Not really. My mom just called me.”

  “Your mom? But it’s been . . .”

  “Eleven years.”

  “What did she say?”

  “That she was sorry. She’s apparently going through rehab and trying to get her life together. I’m one of her steps.”

  “Do you know why she left?”

  “She says she left because my dad was too controlling and she was tired of him telling her what to do.”

  “That might be a good excuse for why she left him. It doesn’t explain why she left you.”

  “I always thought it was because I got in trouble for not paying attention at school.”

  “Is that what you’ve thought all these years?”

  “I did when I was younger. Now, I know that’s not why you leave someone. She wants to see me.”

  “Are you going to?”

  “My dad will be pissed.”

  “Brooklyn, you’re twenty years old. You’re in charge of your life.”

  He sighs. “I’m not in control of anything, Keats. My dad controls my career. Fucking security controls everything else. I’m sick of everyone telling me what to do and people getting mad at me for what I can’t do.”

  “I’m trying to get our lives back.”

  “I’m sorry I bailed on you.”

  “I understand why you did it. I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me yourself.”

  “It’s not just my dad. It’s her.”

  “The girl you’re seeing?”

  “Yeah. What I said about you when I won hurt her. She didn’t know about you. About us.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “That you’re the only girl I’ve ever loved, but that we couldn’t see each other.”

  “Did she want to know why?”

  “I told her your parents don’t like me.”

  “We tell similar lies, B. That’s what I came up with too.”

  “Do you feel bad lying?”

  “I did, yes. Aiden knows the truth now. I had told him a lot about you, but when Damian put you on speakerphone, he was there. He heard.”

  “How did he take it?”

  “He was upset.”

  “He’s in love with you?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is hard. Us. I need to see you. Figure my life out.”

  “What do you need to figure out?”

  “Our lives. My career. Everything just feels out of control. I hate it.”

  “Life is divine chaos, isn’t that what you told me?”

  “Yeah, but mine doesn’t feel very divine right now.”

  “So decide what you want to do and do it.”

  “I need to see my mom, Keats. I was sort of hoping maybe you’d go with me.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Malibu.”

  “Oh, B. I’m not sure being in Malibu is a good idea for either of us right now.”

  “I heard you went back and danced at that club.”

  “How did you hear that?”

  “Garrett’s security guys were talking about it. About how stupid it was.”

  “It was well-planned. I was in and out of there fast.”

  “So, in theory, if we planned it well, you could come, right? And it would give us a little time together. We need it, Keats.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “Hawaii. The first three stops next year are in Australia, so my dad has us booked to be there until the tour starts back up in March.”

  “So, the tour is over for the year?”

  “Yeah. When did you think it would be over?”

  “I don’t know. You talked about going away for a year. I guess that’s what was in my head.”

  “We said we’d give it a year and see how I did. If I could get sponsors. I won one event, but I didn’t do all that well in the others, so my dad will be picking up most of the tab for next season.”

  “Which means you’ll still have to listen to him?”

  “Yeah,” he says somberly.

  “If you didn’t have to listen to him, what would you do differently?”

  “I’d focus on surfing. Nothing else.”

  “Isn’t that what your dad wants?”

  “He’s more focused on the business side of it. The social media. He thinks I’m going to get sponsors, commercials, and deals because of his business savvy. That I don’t have to be that good to be famous. That I have a marketable look.”

  “Did something happen between you and your dad? You’ve always gotten along.”

  He’s quiet for a second. Then he sighs. “He lied to me.”

  “How?”

  “All this time, he’s known where she was. He purposely kept us apart.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not sure what to believe. She said that he wouldn’t let her see me.”

  “B, your dad loves you. There has to be a good reason.”

  “We got into a fight. Today. On Christmas. I wanted answers. He said she was mentally unstable. Didn’t want to talk about it. I kept pushing. I asked how I could trust him when all this time he’d been lying to me. You should’ve seen the look on his face when he walked out the door. It killed me.”

  I picture the look on Aiden’s face when he walked out of the dance.

  “You need to find him and apologize.”

  “How do I trust him?”

  “Sometimes you have to lie to protect the people you love.”

  “I want to see my Mom. I need to see her. I need to understand.”

  “Then see her. But listen to your dad’s story before you decide he’s lied to you about everything. Maybe he only lied to you about one thing. When are you supposed to see her?”

  “What’s taking you so long?” Aiden says as he walks through the door.

  I hold a finger up, asking him to give me a minute. He narrows his eyes at me, trying to assess the situation.

  “On January third,” Brooklyn says.

  “I’ll go with you, B.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, really.”

  “I can’t believe I’m going to see her. After all this time.” He starts crying, and then so do I. I wish I could reach through the phone and hug him.

  “It’ll be okay. B?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I didn’t send you a Christmas gift because you’re supposed to be with that girl.”

  “I didn’t send you anything either.”

  “I want to sponsor you next season. No strings attached. Just text me what you need. It’s my Christmas gift to you.”

  “Keats, I can’t let you do that.”

  “I went crazy on Christmas this year.”

  “In case it’s your last one?”

  “Yeah . . .”


  “Don’t fucking say that.”

  “I’m saying it, B, because it’s true. Now, go find your dad and let him tell you his side of the story.”

  “Fine. I will. Merry Christmas, Keats.”

  “Merry Christmas, B.”

  Aiden looks at me expectantly.

  “Um, I need just a minute.” I put my face into my hands, take a few deep breaths, and try to process everything that just happened.

  After a few minutes, Aiden sits on the bed next to me, wraps his arm around me, and kisses the side of my face.

  “You okay?”

  I nod.

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  “Not really, Aiden,” I say, but then I see his eyes and remember what he said at Stockton’s about his imagination. “It was B, as you heard. He was upset.”

  “Where are you going with him?”

  “To visit his mom. He hasn’t seen or heard from her since she left over ten years ago. Until today. And, to top it off, he found out that his dad has been lying about her all this time. He told B he didn’t know where she was, but he just didn’t want him to see her.”

  “Why?”

  “His dad says she was mentally unstable. They got into a fight about it. He was upset.”

  “Why were you crying?”

  “Because he started crying when I said I’d go with him.”

  Aiden is quiet and seems to be choosing his words carefully. “Will you be gone for long?”

  “He wants . . .”

  “You?”

  “He wants to see how we feel. When we’re together.”

  Aiden looks up at the ceiling, closes his eyes, and goes, “Boom.”

  And that sets me off.

  “You're right. I'm in no position to be saying I love someone or sleeping with them when my life is such a mess. It's not fair to you. It's just, you made me feel—never mind. I have to go.” I’m ready to start crying, and I’m tired of letting him see me cry. “Uh, I’ll see you later,” I say as I rush out the door.

  “Keatyn. Wait.”

  I don’t. I run outside, down the long drive, and to the gate. I see the guards and feel trapped.

  Caged.

  Like an animal in the zoo.

  I have to get out of here, so I walk to the gate and open it.

  “You can't leave,” one of the guards says to me in French, another guard quickly repeating the same phrase in English.

  I drop to my knees, bang my head against the gate, and start bawling.

  A few minutes later, I hear Grandpa’s voice.

  “What's all this ruckus about?”

  I wipe my eyes and turn to look at him.

  He hands me a to-go cup.

  “What’s this?”

  Grandpa smiles. “My special lemonade, of course.”

  “I need to go for a walk,” I tell him.

  “Then let's go,” he says. “Boys, open the gate.”

  Surprisingly, the guards listen to Grandpa.

  As we walk out onto the road, he turns back and instructs them not to follow us.

  I take a deep, cleansing breath, pulling as much air into my lungs as I can before exhaling it.

  “Talk,” Grandpa commands.

  “I’m hurting people that I love.”

  Grandpa studies me for a moment. “Sam told me you picked out a resting place.”

  “I thought our dealings were supposed to be privileged.”

  “They are,” he laughs. “From everyone but me.”

  “So you know everything I put in my will?”

  “Yes. You’re a smart and caring young woman. I’m very proud of how you’ve changed. You’re not the same girl you were when you visited me last summer.”

  “Having your life in danger makes the things that should be important more clear.”

  “Like what?”

  “Love, mostly.”

  He nods, agreeing. “In the grand scheme of life, that’s all that really matters. The people who you love.”

  “I need a plan, Grandpa. Mine is a mess. And, between filming and the wedding, I haven’t had time to think about what’s next.”

  “Then start with what’s first. What will you do when you take over the company? How will you handle it?”

  “Mostly, I want Vincent to know it was me. I want to personally fire him. I want to tell him I’ll be remaking A Day at the Lake. Then I want him escorted out of his building.”

  “So do it.”

  “Do you think it will actually happen?”

  “Do you doubt your Grandpa?”

  I smile. “No.”

  “I won’t let you confront him in person. But if you want to see him, I’ll agree to a video conference.”

  “Put me on a big screen, huh? Hell, that’s even better. Honestly, if I really wanted to piss him off, I'd wear Mom’s bikini from the movie and scream.”

  “That's brutal,” he says, slapping me on the back. “I love it. Then what will you do?”

  “The movie is cast except for three characters. I’m going to do a press release. And then I’m going to cast the parts. I’ll go back to New York City. I’ll go to Malibu. Be seen around.”

  Grandpa shakes his head.

  “It will be okay. We’ll have Mom’s publicist set it all up. He’ll only see pictures of where I was last night, not where I am now.”

  “I had a chat with Garrett. He thinks pushing Vincent is a bad idea.”

  “I think it’s a bad idea too, but it’s my only option.”

  “Your Cooper is very loyal to you, isn’t he?”

  “Yes. He’s become more than a bodyguard to me. He’s more like a friend. His sister was killed by a stalker.”

  “No wonder he’s on your side.”

  “If something doesn't happen quickly, I may have to deal with Vincent face-to-face.”

  “Hotshot, there's bravery and there's stupidity. It's a fine line.”

  “I hope to be on the smart side of stupid.”

  Grandpa breaks out laughing. “Now tell me the real reason why you were crying.”

  “It’s Aiden.”

  “You love him. It’s pretty obvious.”

  “I do, but I shouldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he makes my life feel like a fairy tale when it's not. I’m setting us both up for heartbreak. I told him I loved him. I shouldn’t have.”

  “Did you mean it?”

  “With everything I am.”

  Grandpa’s face changes.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Grandma had a bit of a scare this week.”

  “What kind of scare?”

  “A man followed her from the grocery store and tried to run her off the road.”

  “What did she do?!”

  “Your grandmother is one smart cookie. She turned onto one of the dirt roads that lead through the fields. He didn't follow her.”

  “Do you know why?”

  “We put the hostile takeover together fast. The ownership of one of the shell corporations wasn't as tight as it should have been. My name was on it. Since our last names are the same, it probably didn’t take Vincent long to figure out who’s behind the takeover. This trip came at a good time.”

  “Stay here. Until this is over.”

  “Your grandmother is.”

  “You too, Grandpa. You can help from here.”

  “I can handle myself.”

  “I know you can, but you're not getting any younger.”

  “Cunning beats youth any day.”

  “Except in a fight.”

  “We’re in a fight right now. This takeover is part of the beat down. You want Vincent humiliated. You want him too hurt to fight back. The only problem is that when a man has nothing to lose, he becomes desperate.”

  “That’s exactly what I want. For him to be so desperate he won’t be able to think or plan. Up until now—following people, breaking into rehab, maybe even the killings—were probably jobs he paid someone to do. I need him so beat
down that he won’t be able to think straight. I want him so mad he’ll do things himself. I want him to feel trapped. Caged. To feel like everything he loves is lost. I want him to feel like I do.”

  “Cooper told Garrett he’s afraid you’re going to let yourself get kidnapped.”

  “There’s really no other way. And, once we take over the company, it’s got to happen quickly. Because no one I love will be safe. It would also make me feel better if you were here. Those highly-trained guards of Garrett’s just let target number one walk out the front door simply because you have an authoritative voice. Vincent is a good actor and a good liar. I'd feel better with you here.”

  “Good point,” he says with a nod. “If I agree to stay, will you agree to discuss your plans with me first?”

  I consider lying to him, but I can’t. “I’ll try to. I value your opinion, Grandpa.”

  “That’s good enough for me,” he says as a black car pulls up next to us. “Looks like our walk is over.”

  Garrett gets out of the car and motions for us to get in.

  On the short ride back to the house, he starts to chew me out, but Grandpa quickly intervenes.

  “You should be chewing out your boys at the gate. They're the ones who let me walk out with her.”

  “You're a guest,” Garrett counters.

  “Shouldn't matter. It's a weakness.”

  Garrett thinks about that for a second then says, “You're right.”

  Vincent spends the holidays at his grandmother’s house, revising the script. He has to make sure everything is perfect.

  Keatyn goes back to New York.

  “You’re going to have dinner with Knox? Alone. In his hotel room?” Aiden asks me, reading over my shoulder.

  “Yeah, I feel like I need to tell him what’s going on with Vincent before he’s photographed with me. I want him to know that it could put him in danger.”

  “I don’t think he’ll care. He’s a publicity hound.”

  “A very calculating publicity hound, from what I can tell. And this is just the first step of my plan. I want to be photographed. I want Vincent to start seeing pictures of me. Going clubbing with Knox practically assures that I will. And, hopefully, it will draw some of the attention away from Damian and Peyton. I’m gonna go get ready.”

  “I’m not sure I like this,” Aiden says as I walk away.